


Renegade

by rowanwrites



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Episode: s01e06 The Coyote of the Painted Plains, F/F, coyote of the painted plains rewrite, gah i love them, i am in love with both of them, mary anne gets off the train with beau and remains bored, this is my favourite episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:27:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26722888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowanwrites/pseuds/rowanwrites
Summary: Mary Anne Watkins meets a handsome stranger, and a smooth one at that. Alternate timeline where Chance steals her away just a little bit later.
Relationships: Chance Sequoyah/Mary Anne Watkins
Comments: 12
Kudos: 16





	Renegade

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to me pining after Chance Sequoyah <3
> 
> Thank you to my best friend Beetle for beta reading!

“Aw, Mary Anne, look at this!” Beau points to a dress on display in the window of a boutique. The soft white fabric flowed elegantly, with gentle ruffles at the hem. “This would make you look like a mighty fine bride.”

Mary Anne sighs. “Yes, Beau, I’m sure it would look lovely. The wedding isn’t anytime soon, there’s no reason to think about that now.”

“Are you sure, honey? You would cut quite a figure in it.”

She frowns and begins to speak when a voice next to her interrupts her. “I’d say the lady already cuts a fine figure, sir.”

Mary Anne looks over sharply, into the face of a handsome stranger with a cowboy hat angled on her head and a self assured smile playing on her lips. She loses her voice for a moment, until Beau responds indignantly. “Now, see here! I don’t know who you think you are, but this is my wife you’re talking to!”

“Fiancée,” Mary Anne says breathlessly, more out of habit than anything else.

“Yes, honey. You, don’t you talk to her like that, you hear me?”

“Now, I don’t remember saying anything uncouth to your lady. All I said is that she looks beautiful.” She cocks an eyebrow in a smug challenge. “Don’t you agree?”

“W-well, yes, she does, but she’s my wife, not yours!” he protests.

“Fiancée,” Mary Anne hisses. “Calm down, Beau.” She looks up curiously, meeting the stranger's gaze. She puts a hand on her chest to slow her heart and smiles shyly. “It was very kind of you to say so, stranger.”

The tall woman sweeps her hat off, letting her long dark hair cascade down her back and over her shoulders. She takes Mary Anne’s hand. “It was my pleasure, Miss…?”

She clears her throat, pulling her gaze from the stranger’s honey coloured hand. “Mary Anne. Mary Anne Watkins.”

“Soon to be Mary Anne Richmond,” Beau pipes up beside her.

She sighs “And this is my fiancé, Beau Richmond. Who might you be?”

The woman flashes a wolfish grin, and Mary Anne curses her heart for skipping a beat. “The name’s Chance. Chance Sequoyah. I didn’t especially want to go out today, but I think I’m becoming rather glad I did.”

A man’s voice rings out across the street. “You there! Woman! What do you think you’re doing?”

Chance straightens up and turns to face a portly man, who is red in the face. “I believe I was having a conversation that had nothing to do with you, sir.” The honourific drips with sarcasm, and Mary Anne stares at her in awe.

His face grows redder. “Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?” His mouth contorts into a sneer. “A woman wearing pants, talking as if she’s a man. Are you some kind of witch?”

She smiles widely. “Of course I am, sir! Or did you think I got this handsome naturally?”

Mary Anne stifles a laugh and definitely doesn’t take a long glance at the fitted pants Chance has on, and most certainly doesn’t think about how dashing she looks in them.

The man scoffs, glancing around at the small crowd gathering around them. He seems to shrink under people’s stares, but Mary Anne thinks that all the attention seems to make Chance sparkle. “Women like you are why this place is falling apart. You act like you don’t have a role to fill as a homemaker, like a hero to every hysterical woman.”

“I like to think of myself more as a renegade,” she replies easily. “And don’t you worry about my homemaking, sir. My children are doing just fine.”

“A mother, acting like this,” he repeats, voice dripping with scorn, “shameful.”

She puffs up angrily. “Unless you want to put your money where your mouth is, I’d recommend you stop talking now.”

“All women like you do is leave men unmarried, steal their wives and kill their children. Turning women against men to make them practice witchcraft and marry each other,” he spits.

Mary Anne’s eyes widen and she hears gasps from the crowd around her. Killing children? Good heavens!

Chance laughs loudly. “Quite an accusation, sir. What’s more astounding is that it’s all true. Was that just a fine guess, or did the witches try to get you too, when you were a lad?”

He stands and begins striding angrily towards her. Suddenly, he blanches and stops short. When Mary Anne looks over to Chance she sees a flash of silver disappear into her pocket, which even Beau doesn’t notice. Not that Beau ever notices anything. He makes a great sheriff.

The man turns away, muttering under his breath, and the crowd slowly dissipates.

“Come on, Mary Anne,” Beau urges, tugging on her arm. “She doesn’t seem like anything but trouble. I expect I’ll be seeing her at the Sheriff’s Office any day now.”

“Now, the lady doesn’t seem to like you pullin’ her about,” Chance remarks, suddenly very close behind her.

Her calloused hands pry Beau off of Mary Anne’s arm, her grip much stronger than expected from such nimble fingers.

“Now, don’t you go telling me what my wife wants!” he exclaims.

“I’m not your wife, Beau!” she asserts.

“Don’t seem like you even want to be, Miss Mary Anne,” Chance observes.

She splutters, unable to deny it, and avoids Beau’s eyes in the silence that follows.

He steps forward, standing chest to chest with Chance, who stands several inches taller than him. Mary Anne doesn’t imagine what it would be like for someone that tall to hold her, and it most decidedly is not Chance in the imaginary embrace. “Now, you listen to me! You stop talking like that to my wife!” She doesn’t even bother correcting him. “You just admitted that you steal men’s wives, but you can’t have her!”

“Beau, will you stop yelling? You’re causing a scene.”

“Mary Anne! This- this bandit is trying to steal my own wife from under my nose, and you’re not even worried about it?”

“Can’t steal what you don’t have,” Chance comments, smirking.

“Why, you-!”

“Enough!” Mary Anne yells shrilly. “Both of you, stop it! I am not an object for you to claim,” she yells at Beau, “or for you to steal!” she directs at Chance.

Chance puts her hands up, and Mary Anne most certainly doesn’t notice how muscular her shoulders are. “Your Beau was the one who reckoned I was stealing you away, Miss. Don’t you worry, I would never sweep a lady off her feet without her sayin’ so. Even renegades have morals.”

Mary Anne very much isn’t blushing when she replies, “You had better not! I am not going to stand for one more moment of you two arguing over me. I am his fiancée, and I am an adult. I make my own decisions.”

She lets out a low whistle, an impressed smile spreading slowly across her face. “Understood, Miss. Or should I say ma’am, with that kind of authority?”

Mary Anne looks away, not sure what will happen if she looks back up into the bandit’s eyes.

She doesn’t have to wonder for very long. “Let’s go, honey. This low-down, good for nothing ‘renegade’ will only cause trouble.”

She gasps. “Beau!”

“Yes, honey?”

“Don’t you talk about her like that! She hasn’t done one thing to you.”

“But- she’s trying to make you leave me to practice witchcraft.”

“Ain’t you the sheriff, Mr. Richmond?” Chance drawls, her voice very close to Mary Anne.

“Why, yes I am. Why do you want to know?”

She shrugs. “Just thought you might need a reminder of the laws on fighting in the streets of Crossroads.”

“Why, you- You just started a fight as well, you rotten bandit!”

“Actually, I prevented it, sheriff. No thanks to you.”

“What? No you didn’t!”

“Beau, you leave Chance alone right now. I won’t have you disrespecting her like this.”

“Why- Mary Anne, she’s trying to make you think you can wear pants in public, and that you shouldn’t marry me! Why, I bet she thinks you don’t have to marry anyone!”

Mary Anne drops his hand and steps away from him, towards Chance. “I suppose we’ll have to see about someone else, because I certainly will not be marrying you, Beau Richmond! If you were only marrying me because you thought it was my job, then I’ll show you just how much it’s not.”

He stares at her in shock. “You heard the lady, sheriff,” Chance asserts. She’s so close.

He starts to respond to her, and Mary Anne sighs, slipping the ring off of her finger and holding it out to him. “Get out of here, Beau. We’re done here.”

She sighs in relief when he finally takes the ring and slinks off. She starts turning around to her saviour. “Thank you for-”

Mary Anne trips and stumbles forward. She falls into two strong arms that steady her immediately, leaning against Chance's chest. “Careful, Miss Mary Anne. we wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Yes, don’t want to get hurt,” she repeats breathlessly, not distracted by the feeling of her fantasy from five minutes ago coming true.

Chance chuckles lightly, and the laughter rumbles in her chest. “What were you sayin’ before you fell? I believe you were going to thank me?”

Mary Anne looks up, her face inches away from Chance. “Yes, I was going to do that,” she murmurs. She shakes herself. “I just wanted to, that is, to thank you for…” She takes a tiny step back and clears her throat, but not because the smell of leather emanating from Chance is the only thing she can think about. “Thank you for helping me with Beau. He is, or was, I suppose, a difficult man to be engaged to.”

“Why were you engaged to him in the first place, if you don’t mind my askin’?”

“He asked.”

“And you said yes, just like that?”

“Well, there wasn’t much else for me to do, was there?”

“Lord, maybe that’s what I’ve been doing wrong,” she mutters.

“You… what?”

She smiles down at Mary Anne. “Just a joke, Miss. I suppose I should let you down now. I did say I wouldn’t sweep you off your feet without your say so. D’you think you can stand on your own?”

Mary Anne nods wordlessly, not trusting her own voice. She puts more of her weight on her own legs and tries not to swoon again, this time because Chance’s smile is so captivating.

She tucks a bit of hair behind her ear. “Would you… would you like to go somewhere? Perhaps a meal?”

Chance beams. “A meal sounds lovely. Are you payin’? ‘Cause I’ve got kids and not enough money for them.”

She frowns. “You keep mentioning your children. Are they all old enough to be home alone?”

“‘Course they ain’t home alone, Miss. My husband’s with ‘em.”

Mary Anne feels her face fall and plasters a fake smile on her face. “Oh, I see. That’s wonderful, Chance.”

Chance bursts into laughter. “I’m only joking, Miss Mary Anne. I don’t have a husband. You should’ve seen your face.”

“Chance Sequoyah! I thought you were being serious!”

She keeps laughing, and Mary Anne can’t help but watch, though she is not staring and she could look away from her if she wanted. She definitely could. “I‘m sorry Miss. I couldn’t help myself.”

She tries unsuccessfully to keep a smile off of her own face. “Oh, it’s alright. How many children do you have, anyway?”

“More’n I can count.”

Mary Anne gapes. “Is this another joke?”

Chance steers her gently towards a bright white horse. “Why don’t we talk about it over that meal?” As if on cue, her stomach rumbles.

“Have you eaten today, Chance?”

“Can’t say I have, Miss. I try to give most of it to the children.”

“Then of course I’ll buy you a meal! Come on, let’s go talk.”

Chance leads her over to the horse. “This here is Moonshine. Finest horse in the country, I reckon the whole world.”

“Your horse is named Moonshine?”

“Are you surprised, Miss?”

She sighs. “No, I suppose I’m not.”

“You want to know about the children?”

“Please.”

She sighed. “They’re not really mine, though you coulda guessed that.”

“Are they runaways?” Mary Anne asks, eyes full of concern.

“Some. Most of ‘em are orphans. Nowhere else to go.”

“Aren’t there orphanages nearby?”

“If you count four states over as near, then yeah. Neighbors just want ‘em for cheap labor. I couldn’t leave em’ all begging on the streets.”

“How could you possibly house all of them?”

“Built a house. A nice one, too.”

“I thought you said you didn’t have a lot of money, Chance.”

“I don’t. Stole everything I needed. I’m not proud of it,” she says, seeing the frown on Mary Anne’s face, “but it’s the only way to pull us all through. Now,” she said, hopping up onto Moonshine’s back, “are you comin’ up?”

She feels her cheeks heat up as Chance sticks a hand out and hauls her onto the horse behind her. “Is it safe for both of us to ride him?”

“Of course, Miss. Hold on tight now.”

She obliges, and doesn’t think about the fact that she’s hugging Chance Sequoyah very tightly. “Tell me more about being a renegade.”

“Well, now,” she drawls, the smile clear in her voice. “Miss Mary Anne Watkins wants to be a renegade?”

“I… don’t know about that. It just sounds interesting, that’s all.”

“I see. Well, Miss, it’s a lot of divorce and killing children, and some curses on the side.”

“Chance!”

She laughs, and Mary Anne thinks it sounds even more beautiful than the last time. “I’m sorry, Miss. You’re all too easy to tease.”

“What do you really do? Did you do something to make that man hate you?”

“Of course not, Miss. Ain’t never stolen someone’s wife- ‘cept you I guess-”

“I’ve never been a wife, Chance.”

“‘Course. My mistake, Miss. Never stolen nobody’s wife, then, and I don’t go for the witch thing. I reckon you can tell I prefer the kids stay alive.”

“So why do they hate you?”

“S’pose it’s because I wear pants. That and I’ve stolen from everybody in town, but I like to think they don’t notice,” she adds slyly.

“You couldn’t have stolen from everybody in town. Beau and I only moved here last week.”

“I was on the train you came in on, Miss. I got twenty dollars from your Beau before he fell asleep.”

She stiffens. “He isn’t mine. He’s just- Beau. Sheriff Richmond, I suppose.”

“‘Course. Still, I think it’s probably the pants.”

Mary Anne laughs shyly. “I don’t know why anyone would hate you for wearing pants when they make you look so handsome.”

“You think I look handsome, Miss?” Chance asks slowly.

“Well, yes, I’d say so. I suppose everyone would if they didn’t hate renegades so much,” she mumbles.

“Is that so?”

Mary Anne tightens her grip around Chance’s waist. “You could be a cowboy in a rodeo.”

“I don’t think I’m quite cut out for that.”

“How good are you on your horse?”

“Good enough. It’s not my skill I’m worried about, Miss. I don’t think people would want a woman cowboy in their rodeo.”

“Well, I don’t know about that, Chance.”

She seems to ponder that for a moment. “I think I’ll stick to being a renegade.”

“You do it well.”

“Thank you, Miss Mary Anne. I daresay you’d make a fine teacher, what with you bossing me around earlier.”

She ducks her head. “I was a teacher at Springfield primary. And I didn’t mean to. I just hate when Beau acts like he owns me.”

“You sound more like a renegade with every moment passing.”

“I don’t think I’d like wearing pants.”

Chance chuckles. “I think you can keep wearing your skirts and be a renegade. I think I’m a lady’s renegade, ‘cause there’s lots of renegades.”

“Lady’s renegade, I like that.”

“I think you could be a lady’s renegade, ‘cept you’re the lady here.”

“I could do it for myself, Chance, why wouldn’t I?”

“You've gotta point. We’re here.” She hops off of Moonshine’s back and holds her arms out. “Jump down, I’ll catch you.”

Mary Anne smooths her dress and straightens up. “I can get down by myself, thank you very much.”

She swings one leg over Moonshine’s saddle and loses her balance, feeling herself slip off and fall. Chance catches her easily and Mary Anne feels her traitorous arms snake around the other woman’s neck. “Why, Miss Mary Anne, have you ever been on a horse before?”

“Of course I have! Just- not one as big as Moonshine, that’s all.”

“I see.” She eases both of her arms around Mary Anne. “I’d say you were already off your feet by the time I got you, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, I suppose I was,” she echoes.

Chance sets her gently on the ground, and Mary Anne knows she should let go of her neck. She doesn’t.

“Now, Miss Mary Anne, what’s all this? Are you feeling quite alright?”

She jumps away. “Oh! Nothing, I’m very sorry.”

Chance closes the space between them in one step. “If you do things like that, people will think you already are a renegade, Miss.”

“I… what?”

She tips Mary Anne’s chin up with one hand, the other looping around her waist as she murmurs, “You know the one thing that man was right about?”

She shakes her head, unable to speak, overwhelmed by Chance and the look in her eyes.

“Sometimes, us renegade women do prefer other women.”

Mary Anne pops up on her toes. “Maybe I would like to be one, after all.”

Chance kisses her, and she has never felt such bliss. She breaks away slowly, savouring the warmth from the woman she barely knows. “That was… very nice, Miss.”

She leans in to whisper in Chance’s ear. “Now sweep me off my feet, renegade.”

“Gladly, my lady.”


End file.
